In what could be a possible NBA Finals preview, the Boston Celtics lost a nail-biter, 102-100, at home against the Denver Nuggets. The game was close throughout, lending credence that these are the two best teams in the NBA right now and Finals favorites. The Celtics had a shot to potentially win the game, down by one with 17 seconds left but Jayson Tatum was unable to convert on a layup attempt. While it was certainly not Tatum's best moment, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla was quick to defend his superstar during his postgame press conference as per Celtics beat reporter Bobby Krivitsky.

“Your best player has the ball and an opportunity and again, whether it was on two or three guys he had a layup and just missed it,” Mazzulla said. “The balance is you trust your best player to make a play and he just didn't make it.”

In the Celtics loss to the Nuggets, Jayson Tatum finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists. He only shot 9-24 from the field though including 1-8 from the three point line. He only got to the free throw line three times and he made all three of them.

In the grand scheme of things, it was only one game and the Celtics still have the best record in the NBA. But their late game execution has been concerning at times this season and this game was another example of that. The loss drops the Celtics to 32-10. They still hold a three and a half game lead over the Milwaukee Bucks.